News Articles
Tuesday3rd Mar 2020
News Bloodstained Axes Roguelike Stretch Goal, Will Replace It With A New "Randomizer" Mode
Switch version to receive more enhancements
Since its bumpy launch on the Nintendo Switch, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been drastically improved with multiple performance patches. Last month, for example, version 1.04 was released. It resolved stability issues, fixed some dialogue issues and improved the game's animation. Now, in the...
Thursday16th Jan 2020
News 505 Rolls Out Update For Bloodstained, Switch Release "Nearly Identical" To Other Versions
Performance improvements and much more
Believe it or not, but Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is actually quite a good game on the Switch. If you played this version on release, you might not have been so impressed with the shoddy performance, frame rate issues, weaker assets and extensive loading times. Since then, however, 505 Games has rolled...
Friday1st Nov 2019
Video Here's How Bloodstained's Switch Performance Update Compares To The Previous Version
Version 1.03 is here!
Earlier, we shared the news that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has now received its promised performance update on Nintendo Switch, taking the game from Version 1.02 to 1.03. The update has been long-awaited by fans who were left disappo
News Bloodstained Graphics And Performance Update For Switch Is Now Live
Addresses input lag, visual quality, crashes and load times
The long-awaited graphics and performance update for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is now available on the Nintendo Switch. In version 1.03 there are four major areas of improvement: input lag, visual quality, crashes and load times. According to 505, input lag has been "eliminated"...
Saturday28th Sep 2019
News Bloodstained Switch Updates Expected To Launch By The End Of November
Fixes incoming
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night didn't quite live up to expectations when it arrived on the Switch. Since then, Koji Igarashi the team have been releasing patches and updates to fix the game. The next significant update was outlined earlier this month and now in the latest post over on the Kickstarter page, the senior community...
Tuesday24th Sep 2019
More fixes are on the way
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on the Switch might have already received a number of patches, but the Nintendo version of the game is still a bit of a letdown compared to other platforms. The visuals are watered down, the framerate struggles and load times can be overly long. If it wasn't already evident enough that...
Monday9th Sep 2019
News Bloodstained Team Shares Update On Incoming Switch Fix, But There's Still No Set Date
Switch is the priority
As you may recall - or even remember first hand if you bought it - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Switch didn't quite reach fan expectations in the overall quality department at launch. With assets less impressive than other versions, a weaker frame rate, and frustrating load times all adding up to disappointment, the...
Thursday15th Aug 2019
News Inti Creates Explains Why It Didn't Stick Around To Finish Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
"It was felt best that our involvement ended after completing the alpha"
When Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night smashed its Kickstarter goal a few years back, former Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi was quick to enlist the help of industry veteran Inti Creates, a studio famed for its 2D action titles. Inti Creates – which also co-developed...
Friday2nd Aug 2019
News Bloodstained Receives A Small Patch As Koji Igarashi Apologises For "Continued Inconvenience"
"we are also working on the DLC"
In June, 505 Games - on behalf of Koji Igarashi and the rest of the team behind Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - said it would improve the Switch version of the game with a series of "small updates" rather than forcing players to wait for a bigger one. Now, though, this plan has been wiped. Instead of a smaller...
Friday26th Jul 2019
News Bloodstained's Developers Had To Beat Their Own Bosses Without Taking A Single Hit
"We almost didn't make it..."
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night finally launched on Switch last month, and despite the technical issues and post-launch frustrations, there's definitely a decent amount of fun to be had. Part of that fun comes from the game's boss fights which, as it turns out, must have been quite the adventure for Bloodstained's...
Wednesday24th Jul 2019
News Koji Igarashi Talks About Fan Feedback And How It Impacted Bloodstained's Development
"the final decision must always be made by us"
Over the years, Kickstarter has become an increasingly acceptable way for new and proven developers to fund games. Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is one of the latest titles to be backed by an entire community. During an interview with DenFamiNicoGamer! earlier this month, that was...
Saturday20th Jul 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Switch Patch Comes With Some Unwelcome Extras
Patch it up
When Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night arrived on the Switch a week after initial release, Nintendo players quickly established something wasn't right. Digital Foundry took a closer inspection of this version and found the performance and visuals had taken a tremendous hit and our own review here on
Friday12th Jul 2019
News Iga's Back Pack Now Available In Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
Performance updates are still in the works
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night might be in need of some desperate performance fixes on the Switch, but that hasn't stopped Koji "Iga" Igarashi and his team from releasing the backer's DLC. Following on from last week's approval by Nintendo, the "Iga's Back Pack" is now available on the Switch eShop...
Friday5th Jul 2019
Heavy spoiler alert! Heavy spoiler alert!
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is finally with us, and what a wait it has been. The game was crowdfunded back in 2015 and endured a major delay last year, but it's finally in our hands and on our Switches. While Nintendo fans have unquestionably been given the worst version of the game (
Thursday4th Jul 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Switch Fix Targeting A Mid-July Release
Will "improve input delay, stability, and various optimizations"
As much as we've been enjoying Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night here at Nintendo Life, it's hard to overlook the fact the Switch version has some serious issues. Assets are weaker than other versions, the frame rate is halved, the game can be unstable and the load times are also...
Monday1st Jul 2019
Video Digital Foundry Explores Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night's Disappointing Switch Version
What exactly is wrong here?
Since Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night launched on Switch last week, rather a lot has been said about how it stacks up (or in some cases, doesn't really stack up) against versions available on other platforms. On top of the game-breaking bug which was recently discovered across all editions, the Switch version doesn't...
Thursday27th Jun 2019
Nintendo Download 27th June (Europe)
Mario Maker 2! Bloodstained! Devil May Cry!
The latest Nintendo Download update for Europe has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Switch Retail - New Releases: Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo,...
Wednesday26th Jun 2019
News Bloodstained Team Releasing Multiple "Small Updates" To Fix Performance Of The Switch Version
"We have been listening to the feedback"
Last week, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players encountered a "game-breaking bug" in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. With this problem now resolved, Koji Igarashi and his team have shifted their attention to the Switch release. According to an article over
Thursday20th Jun 2019
Nintendo Download 20th June (North America)
Bloodstained, Crash Team Racing, My Friend Pedro!
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Nintendo Switch: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night...
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Has Game-Breaking Bug, Advice Given To Switch Owners
Make sure you're prepared
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night arrives on Nintendo Switch next week on 25th June. PS4 and Xbox One players already have their hands on it, however, and a game-breaking bug has been found which will affect every version. An update for the game, taking it to version 1.02, appears to be the problem. Essentially, if players...
Tuesday18th Jun 2019
Video Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Launch Trailer Shows Off Shovel Knight Collab
And Konami gets tortured (seriously)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been treated to its very own launch trailer - it releases on PS4, PC and Xbox One today - bringing the hype ahead of its release on Switch next week and giving us a look at Shovel Knight in action. Things begin with game creator Koji Igarashi seemingly torturing a Konami...
Wednesday5th Jun 2019
News Koji Igarashi Still Wants To Finish Two Castlevania "Episodes" With Konami
Please do!
Koji "Iga" Igarashi is best known for his work on the Castlevania series over the years, but right now, is exceptionally busy promoting Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, due out later this month on the Switch. During an interview with Gematsu, though, he was asked if he would ever make another Castlevania if his former employer Konami...
Thursday23rd May 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Physical And Digital Pre-Orders Are Now Live
With free metal case for US buyers
Pre-orders for the upcoming Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night have now gone live on Nintendo Switch. You can secure a download via the eShop or pick it up physically at select retailers. The Switch release is scheduled to launch on 25th June - exactly one week after it arrives on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Standard...
Thursday2nd May 2019
News Bloodstained Finally Gets A Release Date, And IGA Has Taken Forum Comments To Heart
"I will prove them wrong!"
It's taken what feels like forever, but Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night finally has a solid release date. The much-delayed title – which set crowdfunding records a few years back – will hit Nintendo Switch on June 25th, a little behind the PS4, Xbox One and PC editions, which all launch on June 18th. Retail...
Wednesday10th Apr 2019
News Fresh Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Screenshots Showcase New In-Game Area
Sink your teeth into this
The side-scrolling action RPG Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night emerges from the shadows this summer. Following private hands-on demos at PAX East and EGX Rezzed, the team behind the game has now shared some fresh screenshots of a new area in the game. This new section is known as 'The Tower of the Twin Dragons' and...
Monday1st Apr 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night's Disappointing PAX Build Will Be Improved For Launch
Should be closer to the PC build
As our chums in North America may well already be aware, the last few days have played host to PAX East, a showcase of lots of upcoming indie games set to launch across all your favourite systems. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was one of the many games on show, but reaction to the Switch build was rather...
Sunday24th Feb 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Physical Pricing Won't Include "Switch Tax"
Save your pennies
The Switch's popularity has come at a high price. The majority of multi-platform releases in both physical and digital form often cost more on Nintendo's hybrid platform. Eurogamer even investigated why this was happening on the physical front in 2017, only to discover game cards cost more to produce than discs and vary in terms of...
Monday18th Feb 2019
News Feast Your Eyes On This Box Art For Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
Simply stunning
Last week, during the Nintendo Direct Presentation, we got an update on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for the Switch. The team has been hard at work and the game is now expected to arrive this summer. After ongoing requests from fans, the official Bloodstained Twitter account has now revealed the final box art for the game,...
Thursday14th Feb 2019
News Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Emerges From The Shadows This Summer
About time
If you've been keeping tabs on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, you'll know the team behind the game have been hard at work on the project in preparation for its 2019 launch. The latest Nintendo Direct presentation has now revealed the game will launch in summer 2019. Alongside this announcement was a new gameplay trailer. If you've...
Friday28th Dec 2018
News Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Development Has "Reached Its Peak"
Working towards a 2019 launch
Last time we got an update on the Kickstarter project Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Producer Koji 'Iga' Igarashi revealed WayForward would be assisting with the development by stamping out some really tough bugs. In the final
